LAST UPDATE | 1 Mar 2022

Ukrainian emergency service employees work instead the damaged City Hall building in Kharkiv following shelling this morning Ukrainian Emergency Service Ukrainian Emergency Service

THE CONFLICT IN Ukraine has entered its sixth day, as Russian forces continue their advances across the country.

A huge Russia military convoy is massing on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital today as fears grew the invading forces were set to launch devastating assaults aimed at taking control of Kyiv and other major cities.

More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed after Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv.

Russian forces have also shelled Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, killing at least 11 civilians in residential areas. 

Here are the main points to know today:

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union to increase its support to his country, telling the European Parliament to “prove you are with” Ukraine. 
• 676 MEPs voted in favour of a motion to fast-track Ukraine’s application to join the European Union, with 26 abstaining and 13 voting against. Of the 13 who voted against the motion were two Irish MEPS, Mick Wallace and Clare Daly.
• A strike hit a 385m-tall TV Tower in Kyiv, with reports that Ukrainian TV channels have stopped broadcasting.
• The EU banned RT and Sputnik from broadcasting in the bloc, as well as formally agreeing to ban certain Russian banks from the Swift bank messaging system.
• More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed after Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, according to the head of the region Dmytro Zhyvytsky.
• The central square of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv has been shelled by advancing Russian forces – hitting the building of the local administration – regional governor Oleg Sinegubov has said.
• Kyiv says 352 civilians have been killed, including 14 children, since the invasion began last Thursday.
• In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian leader Vladimir Putin demanded the “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine and that the West recognise his annexation of Crimea.
• Russian nuclear submarines sailed off for drills in the Barents Sea and mobile missile launchers roamed snow forests in Siberia after President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation’s nuclear forces put on high alert.

Here are some other updates:

• The US is expelling 12 members of Russia’s UN mission from America for being “intelligence operatives”. 
• Member states of the International Energy Agency, including Ireland, agreed to release 60 million barrels from oil reserves to help maintain stability in global oil supplies.
• Russia was expelled from the 2022 World Cup and its teams suspended from all international football competitions “until further notice”, FIFA and UEFA has said.
• Warner Bros, Sony Pictures and The Walt Disney Company say they are pausing the release of films in Russia in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
• Google announced it is blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. 
• The launch of a joint Europe-Russian mission to Mars this year is now “very unlikely” due to sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine, the European Space Agency has said.
• Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia will continue the offensive in Ukraine until its “goals are achieved”. 

With reporting by Lauren Boland and Grainne Ní Aodha

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